teamwork
It may be difficult for someone from the Baby Boomer generation to understand the resistance from a Millennial when asked to work in an office setting from 8 a.m. to the wee hours of the night to meet a deadline. Or, it may be awkward for a Millennial to receive a phone call from a client or coworker, in favor of a text or email. Three generations dominated the U.S. labor force in 2017—Millennials, Gen...
My friend Carol works as part of a sales team of four … well, now three, since her coworker, Jack, was recently fired. Carol tells me Jack was, on average, moderately successful in his role. Some months, Jack pulled in skyrocketing revenue, giving management hope of greatness in his abilities. But in other months his numbers were flat. Mostly I heard “here’s another Jack story for you” from a very miffed (and sometimes amused) Carol...
March 2018
Let’s Agree to Disagree
I’m a fan of the sci-fi anthology Black Mirror on Netflix—a show sometimes described as a modern Twilight Zone rife with biting social commentary. In one season opener, social media standings have replaced credit scores and as a result, everyone is overly polite in public. Spoiler alert: In the end, through witnessing one woman’s swift fall, we discover that one of the few places where people with pent-up anger are openly honest is jail. I’ve seen that same imprisonment by politeness at...
October 2017
How to Collaborate on Content Projects
“We have an interesting cover story on cyber threats to critical infrastructure. Our writer interviewed multiple sources. We’ve covered this topic in the past, so let’s put a different spin on this article,” said the editor-in-chief of a popular magazine on information security. Getting Started To arrive at this point, the author of the article completed extensive research, interviewed industry experts, wrote the article and submitted it to the editor-in-chief. (At this juncture, sometimes articles...
September 2017
How to Choose and Collaborate with a Content Partner
Your marketing objectives list is long: acquire new customers; increase brand relevance; establish your brand as a thought leader; create new leads and nurture them with stage- or interest-specific content; and so on. To further complicate matters, you’re short on time and in-house talent. Using words and imagery, you’re tasked with building a lead-generating system that nurtures leads from early-stage shoppers to late-stage buyers … and don’t forget the ongoing retention and loyalty-building content requirements....